1. Background of the Invention
The present invention relates to seal means between a rotating cylinder and a stationary cylinder or infeed chute. The present invention also relates to a device to prevent the leakage of tobacco discharging from an infeed chute into a rotating cylinder.
In the processing of tobacco, as well as other types of materials in a rotating cylinder at the infeed of the stationary chute into the rotating cylinder, the prevention of material leakage between the stationary components and the rotating components is generally very difficult. Many different types of sealing arrangements have been attempted to provide means to eliminate leakage between the stationary and rotating components. In the processing of tobacco in a rotating cylinder, it has been very difficult to find means to provide an adequate seal between a stationary chute and a rotating processing cylinder. In fact, over the years many different types of seal devices have been proposed and some work better than others, but the elimination of tobacco leakage has still proved to be a problem.